Publisher Guardian News and Media has announced that it is adopting a “digital first” philosophy that will no longer place its print business as a higher priority than Internet-based media. The strategy shift is said to be a result of lackluster print circulation and advertising revenues. Although the company’s newspapers, such as the Guardian, will remain in print for some time, the publisher is planning to increase investment in digital endeavors.
“By becoming a digital-first organisation we’re taking the next natural step, one which we believe all newspapers will eventually have to take,” said Guardian Media Group chief executive Andrew Miller.
The company suggests its print business is one of the few to show an increase in readership over the past year, however the digital shift is nonetheless said to be necessary to put the news outlet on a “sustainable financial footing.”
“Circulation and advertising revenues in print continue to fall throughout the sector as readers and advertisers embrace new technologies and digital platforms, and this is not a trend that’s about to go into reverse,” Miller added.
